61 years to life in case for sexual abuse of child

SANTA ANA – A Santa Ana man was sentenced Friday to 61 years to life for sexually assaulting a female family member for much of her childhood.

Mariano Antonio Castro, 58, was convicted in February of rape under duress, continuous sexual abuse of a child and two counts each of lewd acts on a child younger than 14 and aggravated sexual assault on a child with the use of force or fear.

Prosecutors said Castro began sexually assaulting the relative when she was seven and that she gave birth to his child when she was 12, which was proven with DNA. She told Santa Ana police about the abuse in April 2011.